Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Increases Stock Position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Free Report) by 102.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,900 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 97,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.12% of First BanCorp. worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FBP. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of First BanCorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $317,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in First BanCorp. by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 16,341 shares of the bank's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First BanCorp. by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 375,327 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,977,000 after buying an additional 7,882 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,935 shares of the bank's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First BanCorp. by 806.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 4,191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

First BanCorp. Price Performance

Shares of FBP stock opened at $18.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.90. First BanCorp. has a twelve month low of $16.40 and a twelve month high of $22.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.05. First BanCorp. had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 18.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First BanCorp. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on FBP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First BanCorp. from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded First BanCorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

Insider Activity at First BanCorp.

In other First BanCorp. news, EVP Carlos Power sold 45,797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.77, for a total value of $951,203.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 186,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,874,498.11. This represents a 19.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About First BanCorp.

First BanCorp. operates as a bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. The company operates through six segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Mortgage Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations.

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